In class we recently discussed the controversy behind the Panama papers and I thought this article was interesting because it relates the massive leak to feminism. Tax dodging is explained as a women’s issue and for example, in places like Ghana women are paying their taxes and although they can’t afford to they cannot avoid paying while the elite have hidden vast amounts of their wealth abroad.The ones who can least afford to pay these taxes are then left with the consequences and burdens by these elite who disobey the law. Women in developing countries are affected because of their low incomes and the lack of infrastructures to help them out of poverty.

My questions are: What do you think about women’s rights being affected by the panama papers and also, what has or can be changed to ensure that impoverished women and the elite are equal in terms of the law?

1 Response to Panama Papers A Woman’s rights Issue

I think that the root of problem is analogous to how we reference who evade taxes with terminology such as the “elite”, or the “1%”. Evading massive amounts of taxes in this way is the equivalent of stealing from all of the people, and the Panama Papers are putting a face to some percent of those who have done it. It’s much easier for a government to exert its power on collecting money from those who have little money because they both don’t have the time and the money to fight it. Disproportionally those who steal money from the government can then spend a small fraction of it to avoid ever having to pay it back, be it through shell corporations, or just plain litigation loopholes.